Happy Easter!

We wish we could say we made these, but they're by Natasha Collins, UK-based baker extraordinaire, otherwise known as neviepiecakes on flickr, and as the author of this great new blog: amelie's house. Both sites are worth combing through. For example, not to mix holidays but check out these amazing cookies she made for World Book Day:

And we're quite partial to this Tailor of Gloucester christening cake. Obviously. Look at his little crossed feet!

British Cheese Week

Lucky Brits - it's Cheese Week in the UK. We should probably show our solidarity and eat lots of extra cheese this week...

Stilton Found to be from.... Stilton!

The origins of Stilton cheese have been a mystery for a long time, but recent events seem to have finally pinned them down to the village of Stilton, of all places. As yesterday's Times article described, "Richard Landy, a local historian, found a letter dated 1722 to Richard Bradley, the first professor of botany at the University of Cambridge, which had a recipe for the cheese attached to it. The author of the letter, Francis Pawlett, wrote of a delicious cheese produced by Cooper Thornhill, the well-known landlord of the Bull Inn, in Stilton." The full story is here.

Meat-Flavoured Crisps

One thing we genrally lack in Canada, is a good selection of meat flavoured potato chips. So we're pretty pleased to have just received a whole variety of Walker's Crisps: Steak and Onion, Roast Chicken, Smoky Bacon, Prawn Cocktail... And here's something kind of unexpected - they're PETA approved. In 2008, PETA honoured them with their 'Best Vegan Snack' award. Who knew? Now please excuse us while go find ourselves a quiet corner and a nice pint...

Beehaus. The Best Thing Since Bauhaus?

Love bees. Love this. We welcome the rise of the Urban Apiarist!




And just for fun, another easy, snack-ish, cheese recipe - this one with honey:

Crostini with Blue Cheese, Honey, and Hazelnuts

Ingredients

* 12 1/3-inch-thick diagonal baguette slices
* 3 ounces blue cheese (such as Gorgonzola , Roquefort , or Maytag blue), room temperature
* 1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted, husked , coarsely chopped
* Honey

Method

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place baguette slices in single layer on baking sheet. Toast in oven until golden, about 8 minutes. (Can be made 4 hours ahead.)

Spread blue cheese on baguette slices. Sprinkle hazelnuts over each. Drizzle each slice lightly with honey.

From epicurious.com

(Or, if you're feeling more adventurous/brave - here's one for Roaring 40's Blue Cheese and Truffle Honey Soufflé. If you make this, bring some in for us!)

STRATHDON BLUE

STRATHDON BLUE


MILK
Pasteurised Cows Milk
RENNET
Traditional Animal Rennet
MADE BY
Ruaraidh Stone
REGION
Tain, Ross-shire
SEASON
All year round
APPEARANCE & RIND
Sticky blue-green millstone shaped cheeses with a
wrinkled rind. The interior is a whitish-cream with distinct lines of blueing.
FLAVOUR & TEXTURE
When ripe, this cheese has a soft, yielding texture more like a continental blue than a Stilton. The flavours are milky and savoury – sometimes quite salty – alleviated by the blue.
Until recently, Ruaridh (pronounced Rory)’s family were best known for a simple, traditional Caboc allegedly made from a recipe of family ancestor Mariota de Ile, daughter of The MacDonald, Lord of the Isles. In the past 3 or 4 years however, in his converted brewery by the sea (now a cheese dairy), he's begun making a blue cheese he calls Strathdon Blue.
Milk is bought from a local six-herd cooperative, which includes one herd of Ayrshires and the rest are Holstein-Friesians. Ayrshires are a traditional Scottish dairy breed and reputedly produce excellent milk for cheesemaking and Ruaraidh believes that this adds a touch or richness to the cheese.
The recipe is still in progress as Ruaraidh likes to experiment. He has changed rennet and ways of salting, to name but two things, and the cheese has developed over the couple of years in which we’ve sold it from a crumbly cheese to one that is rich, full and creamy.